The Wanton Song
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "The Wanton Song" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Song by Led Zeppelin | ||
| from the album 'Physical Graffiti' | ||
| Released | February 24, 1975 | |
| Recorded | 1974 | |
| Genre | Hard rock | |
| Length | 4:06 | |
| Label | Atlantic Records | |
| Writer(s) | Page/Plant | |
| 'Physical Graffiti' track listing | ||
| "Night Flight" (11) |
"The Wanton Song" (12) |
"Boogie with Stu" (13) |
"The Wanton Song" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album Physical Graffiti. The song came about as the result of a jam session at rehearsals and features a sharp, aggressive riff from Jimmy Page. Lyrically it is mainly about sex, specifically sex with a "wanton woman".
For his solo Page employed a backwards echo (where the echo is heard before the note), and also put his guitar through a Leslie speaker cabinet, as Jimi Hendrix had done on "Little Wing" and "Angel", to create a doppler effect with a Hammond Organ. This was a technique Page had himself used as far back as his work with The Yardbirds, and faced serious opposition from audio engineers when he tried it on the earliest Led Zeppelin recordings.
"The Wanton Song" was played live during some of the Led Zeppelin's European and American concerts in 1975, but was then dropped. The song was however played live a few times when Jimmy Page teamed up with The Black Crowes in 1999.
"The Wanton Song" was played live by one-off Led Zeppelin tribute band Hammer Of the Gods, featuring Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy.
[edit] Sources
- Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
- The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
| Led Zeppelin |
|---|
| Jimmy Page • Robert Plant • John Paul Jones • John Bonham
Studio albums: Led Zeppelin • Led Zeppelin II • Led Zeppelin III • Live albums: The Song Remains the Same • BBC Sessions • How the West Was Won Compilations: Box Set • Profiled • Remasters • Box Set 2 • Complete Studio Recordings • Early Days: Best of Led Zeppelin Volume One • Latter Days: Best of Led Zeppelin Volume Two • Coda The Song Remains the Same • Led Zeppelin DVD Peter Grant • Richard Cole • Swan Song Records • The Yardbirds • XYZ • The Firm • Page and Plant • Strange Sensation • Bootlegs • Concerts • Songs |
"The Wanton Song" was also performed many times when Jimmy Page and Robert Plant teamed up for their "Page and Plant" concert tours.
